Reminiscent of hearty, salty loaded baked potatoes, this rich and creamy loaded potato salad is served warm with bacon, cheese, and green onions, no baking required!
I’m slightly obsessed with loaded baked potatoes. The salty roasted skin, the cheese that starts to melt a bit (if you’re lucky enough to have a fresh hot-out-of-the-oven potato,) all combined with creamy sour cream, fresh green onions, and crispy bacon… Oh My!! Take all that and put it into potato salad form so I can just eat it happily out of a bowl, and I’m one happy carb-loaded girl 😊
Ok so to be fair, it’s all that minus the salty roasted skin.. because we’re going to just quickly boil these potatoes instead. But I promise, it’s still just as delicious! The flavor of the “toppings” gets coated onto alllll the potatoes and it’s so, so good!
How To Make Loaded Potato Salad
Unlike typical potato salads, this one is made without eggs, mustard, or pickles. Instead, we’re going to crisp up some bacon and make a creamy, cheesy dressing.
Ingredients
- Potatoes 6 medium potatoes, diced into 1″ cubes. You’ll want choose waxy thin-skinned potatoes. My favorite are Gold or Baby Dutch Yellow potatoes.
- Bacon 9 slices, diced
- Sour Cream 1 cup
- Mayonnaise 1/4 cup
- Cheddar Cheese 1-1/4 cup shredded, fresh or packaged work well
- Green Onions 4 stalks, greens and whites diced; about 1/4 cup
- Salt & Pepper pinch of salt + 1 tsp pepper
Steps
- Peel and quarter your potatoes. If you’re using smaller potatoes, you may only need to halve them. You want about 1″ cubes (think bite size). Put your potatoes into a large pot, fill it with water to just cover the potatoes, and add about 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring the potatoes to a boil at high heat and then reduce to med-low/low to maintain a low simmer. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for about 12-15 minutes. You can check if the potatoes are done by sticking a fork into one of the larger pieces. If it pierces the potato easily then they are done. Drain the water and return potatoes to the pot. Cover with a lid to keep them warm and set aside until you’re done with your sauce and just about ready to serve. They’ll keep warm for about 30 minutes.
- While your potatoes are boiling, dice your bacon and add to a small pan on medium heat. Cook the bacon for about 10 minutes, giving it a stir once in a while. Once done, remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel.
- While your bacon cooks, chop your green onions and shred your cheese if you’re not using pre-shredded. Set aside a spoonful of each to use as a garnish on top of your potato salad.
- Mix together the mayo and sour cream, green onions and shredded cheese. Once the bacon is done, add it into the mixture, making sure to reserve a spoonful for garnish.
- Pour the dressing over the potatoes and gently stir to coat. Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and top with the reserved cheddar cheese, bacon and green onions. Dig in!!
To Make Ahead
You can certainly make this loaded potato salad ahead of time. Because I prefer to serve it warm, I would suggest you store your dressing and potatoes separate and then mix together right before you’re ready to serve. This will keep the fats in the sauce from separating upon reheating.
To make ahead, combine your dressing ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate. Let your potatoes cool and then cover and store. Keep a handful of the cheddar, green onions, and bacon in a separate container to sprinkle on top of the potato salad.
About 30 minutes before you’re ready to serve, take the dressing out of the fridge so it can start coming to room temp. About 10 minutes before you’re ready to eat, microwave your potatoes until they’re hot. Then pour the dressing over the potatoes and gently stir to coat. The heat from the potatoes will warm the sauce just enough.
Top with garnishes and serve!
FAQ
Yes you can make this salad the day before, however I do prefer serving it warm when the sauce is creamy. If you refrigerate and reheat, the dressing does tend to separate a little. It’s still delicious either way, but see the note above for my recommendations on prepping in advance.
Typically you don’t want to freeze mayonnaise or sour cream based potato salads because they don’t thaw and reincorporate very well. However, because this salad is served warm, you actually can freeze it. Place your leftovers in a plastic freezer bag, squeeze out excess air, and store for up to 3 months. You can reheat in your microwave or oven but times and temps will vary depending on how much and how thick of a layer of potato salad you have.
The best potatoes to use in potato salads are waxy and thin-skinned, such as red, gold, white or fingerling potatoes. Starchy potatoes like Russets tend to fall apart while the waxy varieties hold their shape really well when mixed in potato salads.
Assume each person will eat 1/2 Cup – 1 Cup of potato salad. This can depend on how much food will be served overall. Most people will take about 1 cup of a side dish if there are only one or two choices. If there are several sides being served, they’ll tend to a get 1/2 cup instead.
What Goes Well with Potato Salad?
This Loaded Potato Salad is a great side dish for chicken, beef, or pork. With the possible exception of a grilled swordfish, I would skip serving it with seafood but that’s just my personal preference. You can also try one of my faves – a fried over-easy egg on top of this potato salad 😋.
- Burgers
- Steak
- Steak or Chicken Kabobs
- Ribs
- Bratwurst
- Pork Chops
- BBQ Pork Tenderloin
- Grilled Swordfish
More Side Dish Recipes:
Mint and Lime Watermelon Salad
Loaded Baked Potato Salad
6
servings15
minutes20
minutes35
minutesReminiscent of hearty, salty loaded baked potatoes, this rich and creamy loaded potato salad is served warm with bacon, cheese, and green onions, no baking required!
Keep your screen from going dark while you cook
Ingredients
6 Medium Potatoes, such as Gold or Baby Dutch
2 tsp Salt (for boiling potatoes)
9 slices Bacon, diced
1 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
1-1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Green Onions, about 4 stalks greens and whites diced
pinch of Salt
1 tsp Pepper
Directions
- Boil the potatoes. Peel and dice potatoes (think bite size, about 1″ cubes). Add to large pot, fill with water to just cover potatoes, and add about 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil at high heat, then reduce to med-low/low to maintain a low simmer. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for 12-15 minutes. Check if the potatoes are done by sticking a fork into one of the larger pieces. If it pierces the potato easily then they are done. Drain the water and return potatoes to the pot. Cover with a lid to keep them warm and set aside until you’re done with your sauce and just about ready to serve. They’ll keep warm for about 30 minutes.
- Fry the bacon. Add bacon to a medium pan on medium heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once done, remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel.
- Make the sauce. Mix together the mayo and sour cream, green onions and shredded cheese. Once the bacon is done, add it into the mixture, make sure to reserve a spoonful of the bacon for garnish.
- Finish the potato salad. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and gently stir to coat. Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and top with the reserved cheddar cheese, bacon and green onions. Dig in!!
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